Tikkabik

So we went to a Christmas party that my wife's aunt has every year over the weekend. It's great for the kids because they receive presents and get to open them before The Big Day, so it's a bit of stress relief. And for us, it's terrific, because we never get to see Bonnie's mom's side of the family often enough. The only problem is they live far away so it's a long day for us -- we didn't get home until quarter of 11 that night.

Anyway, the kids rounded up some great loot. Bob, in particular, scored hardcover editions of books 7 - 10 in the Series of Unfortunate Events from Lemony Snicket, which is this series we absolutely adore about the unfortunate Baudelaire orphans, who are always beset with tragedy and woe at the hands of their nefarious distant relative, Count Olaf. Anyway, Bob unwrapped the books and proceeded to hug them and carry them around with him for the next several hours. Let me reemphasize this: Bob was hugging books. I figure we've done all right as parents if one of my kids was hugging books he got as a present.

My favorite gift of the kids, though, is a guilty pleasure -- it's this plush, stuffed bulldog puppet that barks "How Much is that Doggy in the Window?" when you move its mouth. I have no idea why I like this thing so much.